


Shrikestar's Call

by Endofwave



Series: Faronclan AU [1]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:00:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29215335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endofwave/pseuds/Endofwave
Summary: Or: What Happened at the End of the Lake Clans
Series: Faronclan AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852108
Comments: 1





	Shrikestar's Call

**Author's Note:**

> A real short bit of background for the FaronClan AU, the aftermath of the great hurricane that would later be known by the Lake Clans' descendants simply as The Calamity. I tried to sort of emulate that vaguely disconnected feeling that the prologues in the actual books gives off, the first arc especially.
> 
> The last leaders of the Lake Clans were Boulderstar of ThunderClan (Daruk), Silverstar of RiverClan (Mipha), Lightningstar of ShadowClan (Urbosa), Falconstar of WindClan (Revali), and Shrikestar of SkyClan (Impa). Four of the five perished trying to save their Clanmates from the storm.

The moon was full, but clouds shrouded the sky, and the thick scent of rain was still heavy in the air. Upturned trees carved stark silhouettes into the moonlit night, baring roots that had lain under ground trodden by the pawsteps of countless generations. In the scarce shelter of fallen branches where they had found respite from the damp, small groups of cats sat in silence.

A whimper broke the quiet, and a soft keening started up from somewhere else. No cat moved to comfort their fellows, or to silence them. Pairs of eyes glowed reflectively in the dim moonlight, staring at nothing. A silver tabby sat alone in an open space where the trees had once stood, face raised skyward, searching for a glint of light among the backlit clouds. A short distance away, a sleek dark cat rose to its feet and limped to one of the trees still standing. With a soft hiss of pain, it leapt powerfully to a low hanging branch and lifted its chin high.

"Cats of all Clans, hear me now!"

Several cats rose at the sound of the she-cat's hoarse, commanding voice and moved to sit closer to where she perched. Most just turned their dull gazes to her, or flicked an ear in the right direction, all the acknowledgement they could muster. Some did not move at all.

"Cats of all Clans," began the she-cat, only to be cut off by a sharp hiss. A pale brown tomcat stepped forward, pelt bristling and legs trembling with fatigue.

"We already know what you have to say, Shrikestar," he spat, "and ThunderClan will never fall at the order of another Clan's leader!"

The she-cat considered him for a moment, then inclined her head very slightly in acknowledgement. "Your words are brave, Siltwhisker. I'm sure StarClan will honor your resolve." She raised her voice to address all of the assembled cats. "But ThunderClan has already fallen. _All_ of the Clans have fallen. SkyClan as low as any other.” She inclined her head toward her former Clanmates, her own grief reflected in their eyes. “My loyalty to my Clan does not blind me from what we have lost." 

Siltwhisker bared his fangs. "As long as there are cats yet alive to fight for it, we-"

"You are the only warrior left from your Clan who is young and uninjured enough to provide for what remains of it," said Shrikestar softly. "Even if you made the journey to the Moonpool- StarClan knows if it even survived the storm- who would remain to care for your kits and elders?" Siltwhisker looked away, claws digging into the dirt in a helpless anger that echoed Strikestar’s own. "No, Siltwhisker. The Clans have fallen, and our territories are gone. We cannot sustain, not here, in this ravaged land." She closed her eyes. "I am the last leader of SkyClan; of any Clan. By the Code, my word is law. The era of the five Clans has come to an end. It is over."

"There are six Clans," meowed a shaky voice from within the thicket of branches. A formerly WindClan queen, heavy with kits, was just visible in the shadows, her eyes stretched wide. "Is this truly the will of StarClan?"

The clearing erupted in yowls of agreement.

"Have they spoken to you?"

"Our warrior ancestors _allowed_ this to happen!"

"I won't leave my Clanmates at the word of a SkyClan cat!"

"We need their guidance!"

"StarClan have not spoken to me-" Shrikestar began wearily, but cut herself off as a silver tabby tom padded to the front of the assembled cats. He turned to face them, taking a place at the foot of the tree that the SkyClan leader perched on. The two cats exchanged a solemn look, the tom's eyes silently questioning, and Shrikestar dipped her head in deference.

"Raintail," rasped the hoarse voice of an elderly she-cat, huddled against the fallen trunk of an oak. "You have been RiverClan's medicine cat for many seasons. Have StarClan spoken to _you_?" Murmurs swept through the gathered cats.

"StarClan have not spoken to me," said Raintail quietly, and the murmurs swelled into soft wails of dismay and fear. He lifted his chin and raised his voice. "StarClan have not spoken to me," he repeated, as silence slowly crept back into the clearing. "I believe I am the only remaining medicine cat, from any of the Clans. I do not know who else they would have spoken to." He paused for a moment, eyes clouding with grief, then continued in a strong voice. "Silverpelt is hidden by the clouds; the full moon, as well. Our warrior ancestors are not with us in this moment." More cries of distress echoed from the other cats, but Shrikestar silenced them with a wave of her tail.

Raintail took a deep breath. "However... However, I do not believe that StarClan brought this storm upon us. I do not believe that their will is our destruction." An almost tangible sense of relief washed slowly over the clearing, but Raintail's eyes were filled with a deep sadness as he cast his gaze skyward once more.

"But I also believe that Shrikestar is right."

This time, Shrikestar could not curb the yowls of anguish and outrage, the cries of despair, rising up from the remnants of the five lake Clans. A cold wind rustled the branches of the fallen trees, the scent of rain thickening, and she wondered if StarClan, too, was wailing in grief for what they were losing. What they had lost.

"StarClan has not abandoned us," Shrikestar meowed softly, when it was quiet enough for her voice to be heard, "But our fates have been left in our own paws." The remaining cats fell silent as she continued. "If we remain, we can do nothing but pray that the coming leafbare will be kind, that the prey will return, that the pawful of able-bodied cats among us can provide for the many more that are wounded or unable to hunt for themselves. If we remain, we will die. The Clans are no more." She rose to her paws, gazing not at the stars or the moon, but into the terrified, desperate eyes of the cats gathered before her. "I am Shrikestar, the last leader to bear the blessing of StarClan. By the warrior Code, my word is law, and from this moment I absolve you and all generations to come of the duty to live by the rules of our ancestors. The Clans are no more. Tonight we sit vigil for their memory." She looked away and said nothing more, leaping to the ground and padding away into the darkness to sit alone.

The icy rain began to fall anew over the land that was once the territory of five Clans, and the cats that were once its warriors turned their gaze skyward, and made no move to take shelter from the storm.

**Author's Note:**

> (Siltwhisker is just the first name the Littlecloud bot generated for me, and Raintail is an unrelated OC that I shoehorned in here because I was too lazy to come up with someone else. Neither of them represent any Zelda characters)


End file.
